August Wrap Up

How was your August reading month? Mine was great! I read eight books (not included in my wrap up photo is Enmity by C.K. Robertson, which I read as an eBook) and I can honestly say I enjoyed them all. I gave a few five star ratings and I became obsessed with Tricia Levenseller’s Daughter of the Pirate King duology! I finished Daughter of the Siren Queen this morning, and I don’t even know if I can write a review for it. I loved the book so much that I feel if I were to sit down and attempt to review it, all I’d be able to write would be an endless string of heart-eyes emojis. In case you missed them, here are the reviews I wrote for all eight of my reads this month:

While I’m very happy with the number of books I read in August, I think I might need to add a bit more variety to my September line up. Of the eight books I read last month, all of them were written by women and seven are YA. To spice things up a bit this month, I’m hoping to read at least one book by a male author (though I must admit, I don’t have any on my TBR) and more of a mix of different age grades. As an adult, I’ve never read a middle grade book, maybe now might be a great time to give one a try! I’m also a little disappointed by how few review books I read this month – I was aiming to read one book that I was given for review for every one book I chose myself. Unfortunately, only two of the books I finished in August are review books. However, of my current three reads, two are books I was provided with in exchange for an honest review (The Girl Who Fell and Queendom of the Seven Lakes). Do you have any plans for your September TBR? While I have a rough idea of what I’d like to read, I don’t enjoy sticking to a strict TBR, I’m much more of a mood reader.

Other bookish news . . .

So in August, I was lucky enough to be chosen as an Instagram rep for the bookish jewellery store Belle Regalia! I’m a massive fan of Grace’s designs, so I’m very excited to be a rep for the store for the next few months. My rep code is LAURA10 an entitles users to 10% off store wide.

Another store I rep for, Spark and Sparrow, has vastly grown their range of bookish candles over the past few months. When I first became a rep for the store, it’s owner Madi had Harry Potter and ACOTAR scents available, but her products were generally more lifestyle based. Now she’s released quite a few more bookish candles, including some inspired by Nevernight, Throne of Glass, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and The Mortal Instruments. My personal favourites from the new range are Mia Corvere and Pixie Dust. The latter smells like mint and marshmallows, which is just the most amazing combination!

One of the biggest things to happen to me this month is that I decided to try and go back to university! The course I’ve applied for is called Professional Writing and Publishing, and I only applied a week or so ago, so I haven’t heard back from the university yet. As much as I’m really hoping that I get in, I’m also kind of terrified! It’s been over five years since I last studied full time, and I’m guessing getting back into things will be a big adjustment. It’s also been close to two years since I’ve worked a full time job. Since losing my library position I’ve been working as a casual customer service attendant, and while I like the free time it gives me, it’s an exhausting and mind numbing job, and if I don’t start working my way back to finding a meaningful career soon, I think I’ll go crazy.

Another exciting change is that my husband Christon got a new job! He hasn’t started yet, so I don’t know an awful lot about what he’ll be doing, but I know that the role involves providing IT support to people who are elderly or have disabilities. I think it’s something that he’ll find rewarding (and also something that he’ll be very good at it).

Anyway, if you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading all my little updates!